Open mic at Dante’s has been going on for 6 months. It used to happen on another day of the week, but the bartender told me it will probably stay on Sundays indefinitely. Run by a gentleman named Bryan, this room is for standup only. There is a paid parking lot where Dante’s is, or you can pay for street parking. Signup is first come first choice, and talent gets 5 minutes, Bryan’s light at 4. There are no language restrictions. Dante’s is a full bar, and the business is a music venue. A giant stage – not where the mic takes place – dominates the very large establishment. But in a second room, with a much smaller stage, but one you must step up to (6 steps) to reach the top, in that room, everyone can see the stage no problem. The backdrop is a black wall and a turned-off TV. That room seats over 30. On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The lighting is not strong but good enough to be seen. The room goes to 6pm, but Bryan informed me sometimes it can go 15, even 20 minutes longer. Bryan arrived 3:50pm to set up. The signup sheet came out, and people jotted their names down. While the honor system was not well represented, attendance was not so high that even if you were first to arrive but did not signup first, even if you were at the end, there were only 7 comics present, so it’s not like it will be an hour before your turn. Beers at the place run $6, but all talent gets one drink ticket for performing, and if you approach their pizza counter, you may get a complimentary slice. Now, if that’s not incentive enough to do this room on top of having a place to perform, I don’t know what is. The room started at 4:11pm. I counted 14 in the room, including the 2 bartenders. One muted TV played close to the bar, but it is not a distraction. To keep the temperature down, a large fan hummed near the stairs to the stage, and if you sat close to it, yeah, it might be a distraction. Most of the people sitting in the room were comics, but I think there were 2 people there just to have a drink and listen to some comedy. Though my friend and I were definitely there first, I was fourth in line to signup and took the fourth spot. One after the other, comics did their set, although some talent definitely did more than 5 minutes. Bryan was good about lighting talent, but sometimes, for one reason or another, he stepped out of the room, and until the talent saw the light, they kept going. By 5pm, attendance had lessened to 10, but it stayed consistent, even by 5:45pm. A final comic showed up at 6pm and got to perform last. The room ended at 6:10pm. Guys, I’m somewhat torn. Bryan is a good host, definitely kept the room moving along. And a drink ticket, and even a free slice of pizza, is such a bonus, such a treat, that that alone is reason enough to do the mic. But, in sitting in the corner, I noticed a number of the other comics on their phone, doing whatever, anything but watching the talent. The energy in the room was not strong. Bryan encouraged people to applaud for talent, but once on stage, peeps in the room seemed to fade into the woodwork, waiting their turn to go up. My friend and I paid attention, and two or three comics sat close to the stage and watched, but, again, others stepped out, were busy on their phones, or something distracted them. I get that because it’s a workday, and the room starts as early as 4pm, that not a lot of Portland comics can reach this mic, or if they can, it’s after the room has started. Still, it should get some recognition. Visiting comics certainly would want to make this the first of 2, possibly 3 mics on a Monday. I hope this room thrives. Comics should support Dante’s, as much as Dante’s supports the talent for going up with a free drink and pizza.
Open mic at Dante’s has been going on for 6 months. It used to happen on another day of the week, but the bartender told me it will probably stay on Sundays indefinitely. Run by a gentleman named Bryan, this room is for standup only. There is a paid parking lot where Dante’s is, or you can pay for street parking. Signup is first come first choice, and talent gets 5 minutes, Bryan’s light at 4. There are no language restrictions.
ReplyDeleteDante’s is a full bar, and the business is a music venue. A giant stage – not where the mic takes place – dominates the very large establishment. But in a second room, with a much smaller stage, but one you must step up to (6 steps) to reach the top, in that room, everyone can see the stage no problem. The backdrop is a black wall and a turned-off TV. That room seats over 30. On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The lighting is not strong but good enough to be seen. The room goes to 6pm, but Bryan informed me sometimes it can go 15, even 20 minutes longer.
Bryan arrived 3:50pm to set up. The signup sheet came out, and people jotted their names down. While the honor system was not well represented, attendance was not so high that even if you were first to arrive but did not signup first, even if you were at the end, there were only 7 comics present, so it’s not like it will be an hour before your turn. Beers at the place run $6, but all talent gets one drink ticket for performing, and if you approach their pizza counter, you may get a complimentary slice. Now, if that’s not incentive enough to do this room on top of having a place to perform, I don’t know what is.
The room started at 4:11pm. I counted 14 in the room, including the 2 bartenders. One muted TV played close to the bar, but it is not a distraction. To keep the temperature down, a large fan hummed near the stairs to the stage, and if you sat close to it, yeah, it might be a distraction. Most of the people sitting in the room were comics, but I think there were 2 people there just to have a drink and listen to some comedy. Though my friend and I were definitely there first, I was fourth in line to signup and took the fourth spot. One after the other, comics did their set, although some talent definitely did more than 5 minutes. Bryan was good about lighting talent, but sometimes, for one reason or another, he stepped out of the room, and until the talent saw the light, they kept going. By 5pm, attendance had lessened to 10, but it stayed consistent, even by 5:45pm. A final comic showed up at 6pm and got to perform last. The room ended at 6:10pm.
Guys, I’m somewhat torn. Bryan is a good host, definitely kept the room moving along. And a drink ticket, and even a free slice of pizza, is such a bonus, such a treat, that that alone is reason enough to do the mic. But, in sitting in the corner, I noticed a number of the other comics on their phone, doing whatever, anything but watching the talent. The energy in the room was not strong. Bryan encouraged people to applaud for talent, but once on stage, peeps in the room seemed to fade into the woodwork, waiting their turn to go up. My friend and I paid attention, and two or three comics sat close to the stage and watched, but, again, others stepped out, were busy on their phones, or something distracted them.
I get that because it’s a workday, and the room starts as early as 4pm, that not a lot of Portland comics can reach this mic, or if they can, it’s after the room has started. Still, it should get some recognition. Visiting comics certainly would want to make this the first of 2, possibly 3 mics on a Monday. I hope this room thrives. Comics should support Dante’s, as much as Dante’s supports the talent for going up with a free drink and pizza.